Film

The Donut King

Name: The Donut King
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2020
Cast: Chuong Pek Lee, Susan Lim, Ted Ngoy, Daewon Song, Mayly Tao

Biopic

A portrait of Ted Ngoy, a Cambodian refugee who built a donut empire from nothing and became an unlikely kingpin of Southern California's sweet-shop scene. It's a character study wrapped in an American dream story, told with warmth and complexity. For anyone interested in immigration, reinvention, and the weird specifics of how things actually work.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like immigrant stories told by the people who lived them, where one personal history widens into a bigger tale about ambition and the American dream's sugary fine print.

Skip it if you're after a hard-edged investigation or a brisk pace, since it leans warm and admiring and relies on familiar talking-head interviews that stay gentle on its subject.

What it asks of you: Ninety-four minutes of unhurried talk with a light comic touch and a steady, reflective pull rather than constant momentum, and room to let its warmth sink in slowly.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Fyre2019

Like Donut King, it's a character-driven documentary about an unlikely visionary building something vast through charisma and hustle. It captures the intoxicating logic of ambition and the details of how empires work.

But Fyre's subject is genuinely repellent in ways that make it harder to sympathize. The tone is sometimes more mocking than searching.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi2011

Another documentary about mastery, dedication, and a single pursuit elevated to an art form. It's meditative and respectful toward its subject's obsession, asking what drives someone to perfect one thing.

But It's deliberately slow and contemplative. If you want narrative momentum and conflict, this prioritizes mood over plot.

Won't You Be My Neighbor?2018

A gentle documentary portrait of someone who changed American culture through quiet persistence and clear values. It finds genuine humanity in its subject without pretending complications don't exist.

But It's reverential in a way that might feel too soft if you prefer critical distance from your subjects.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Donut King

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Ramen Shop2018

Both are about refugees or immigrants building identity and livelihood through a specific, humble food, and finding dignity and community in mastery of something simple.

A Singaporean film about an immigrant chef starting over in a new country through food. Like Donut King, it's about reinvention and finding belonging through craft in a place that isn't home.

But It's a narrative fiction film, not a documentary, and moves at an unhurried pace. Some may find it slow or overly sentimental.

King in the Wilderness2018

A documentary that interrogates how a single person shapes history and culture. It's interested in the complexity of its subject—the contradictions, the doubts, the human scale of legacy.

But It's heavy and serious in a way Donut King isn't. The subject matter is inherently tragic.

The Toys That Made Us2017

Each episode traces how an everyday object became a cultural phenomenon. It shares Donut King's fascination with the specific details of how commerce and culture intersect.

But It's more celebratory and less psychologically searching. Some episodes are shallow by design.

RBG2018

A documentary portrait of someone who shaped American life through singular focus and determination. It's warm without being uncritical, interested in both legacy and the person behind it.

But It assumes some baseline knowledge of law and politics. The pacing is leisurely.

Tim's Vermeer2013

A documentary about obsession, craft, and an outsider pursuing mastery in an unexpected field. It's genuinely moving about what it takes to perfect something.

But The subject is extremely niche. If you don't care about art history or optics, the premise might not grab you.

The Alpinist2021

A portrait of someone driven by a singular passion to the point of self-destruction. It's visually stunning and philosophically curious about what ambition costs.

But It's ultimately a tragedy. The beauty can't outweigh the sadness if that's not what you're in the mood for.

The Queen of Versailles2012

Both track a visionary building an empire—one ascending, one collapsing. Both examine the personality type that can't stop wanting more.

A documentary that follows a wealthy couple through financial collapse, watching ambition and excess implode in real time. It's about the psychology of wanting more and what happens when the tower falls.

But It's a schadenfreude documentary. The subjects are unsympathetic and sometimes contemptible, which is sort of the point, but it's uncomfortable.

Tokyo Story1953

Both are deeply interested in what people do after displacement or loss, and in finding grace and purpose in ordinary life rather than grand vindication.

An ancient film about aging and displacement, about people trying to maintain dignity and connection when their world has fundamentally shifted. It's about making peace with change and finding meaning in small moments.

But It's a 1953 Japanese film shot in black and white with a glacial pace. If you want conventional narrative or energy, this is the opposite.